


Isn't it Obvious?

by MariachiMermaid



Category: Haikyuu!!, ハイパープロジェクション演劇「ハイキュー!!」| Hyper Projection Play "Haikyuu!!" RPF
Genre: Asahi's Parents Own A candy Shop, Chaotic Sugawara Koushi, Established Relationship, Fluff, I promise, M/M, Not Beta Read, Not enough to really tag it tho, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, ProbablyOocTsukishima, Sassy Yamaguchi Tadashi, The chapters get longer, The eensiest bit of Kagehina, We Die Like Men, maybe some smut, we'll see how it goes, why? because plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26519824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariachiMermaid/pseuds/MariachiMermaid
Summary: Tsukishima and Yamaguchi find that everyone on the team thinks they're just best friends. Clearly the best option is to push the PDA until someone finds them out.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 24
Kudos: 595





	1. Let's Run a Test Shall We?

**Author's Note:**

> This is quite literally the first piece of creative writing that I have written in like 4 years. I'm not going to ask you to be gentle with your criticisms because that's pussy shit. I'll try to update at least once a week, maybe more if I have the time. Enjoy this dumb little story.

It really was a wonder that no one had them figured out yet, neither of the two ever bothered to hide it and Yamaguchi was never good about being subtle with his infatuation in the first place. Tsukishima posited that the team had to be composed of a special kind of idiot for no one to notice their relationship. Yamaguchi suggested a kinder viewpoint, perhaps the two weren't as obvious as they thought they were, or maybe no one ever bothered to think about the nature of their relationship.

Either way, the couple wasn’t averse to the team knowing about them, especially after Hinata had inadvertently come out as gay. Since the two knew they would be safe among the team, Tsukishima suggested a game to test their team’s intelligence. And so, it began.

The rules were as such; they would progressively dial up the PDA in the company of the team, somewhere visible, but not too obvious. The affection would continue increasing until the team noticed or the two lovebirds decided to just tell them Here are the results.


	2. Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've decided to make Thursday my update day, not for any specific reason, I just like Thursdays. Anyway, here's the first real chapter, it's longer just like I promised. Enjoy!

They had whipped up the plan haphazardly after practice on Monday, and although they had both agreed on committing to it, Tadashi couldn't help but feel nervous. He wasn't scared of the team per se, but they were going for PDA, so it wouldn't be too far out there to assume that others not in the club might catch on. Not that Tadashi much minded people knowing Tsukishima and him were in a relationship, but the potential wrath of all the girls who fawned over Kei scared him more than he cared to admit. They'd have to be strategic about this: obvious enough that the team could figure it out, but subtle enough that Kei's horde of spurned would-be lovers didn't catch their scent. Seriously, those girls were feral.

So, they decided to start small, with hand-holding. This wouldn't be the first time they held hands on school grounds, Tadashi supposed. After all, it wasn't uncommon to see Tadashi dragging Tsukishima by the hand to the courtyard to eat, or for Kei to drag Tadashi away in a hurry so he could avoid bothersome confessions. But those situations were different, this was affection, not a rushed getaway.   
Taking Tsukishima's hand in his own, he grinned up at the taller boy. "Day one is a go! How long do you think it'll take for the team to figure it out, Tsukki?"

“With that band of idiots? They’ll never catch on,” Kei scoffed. After years of constant companionship, Tadashi knew Kei well enough to understand what he really meant was, 'I don’t know how long it’ll take, it’s always a toss-up with these guys'. "Actually, my money is on Kiyoko and Yachi. Those two spend enough time monitoring the team that I wouldn't be surprised if they already knew."

Tadashi hummed noncommittally, it was true that their managers kept a close eye on the team, but something told him they hadn't caught on yet either. After all, if Yachi knew she would have surely congratulated them already. With a gentle hand squeeze and a heavy sigh, Tsukishima silently signaled he didn't feel like talking much more. It was too early, and neither of them were really morning people.

The school gates were close now, and with the thrum of students coming in for the morning clubs, Tsukishima pulled on his headphones. Hand in hand, the two made their way to the clubrooms, and although Tadashi was keeping an eye out for suspicious gazes, none of the other students milling about seemed to pay mind to the two boys.

By the time they arrived, the rest of the team was already in the clubroom, except for Kageyama and Hinata of course, they had probably been in the gym since dawn. While Suga did glance at their conjoined hands, he didn't say anything, and no one else seemed to notice. Changed, in uniform, and ready to practice, Tsukishima grabbed Tadashi's hand again, and the two left for the gym.

During practice, of course, holding hands was a no-go. Even so, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi found ways to be more tactile than usual. Tsukishima's hands lingered on Tadashi for longer than they usually did while stretching, and while no one seemed to pay mind to the prolonged contact, Tadashi sure got red. What did raise eyebrows though, was when Tsukishima willingly offered and accepted high fives from Yamaguchi. He still refused the gestures from the rest of the team, dodging their attempt at congratulatory contact, to which Yamaguchi found himself giggling at the increasingly aggressive attempts at kinship.

The rest of the day continued on without a hitch. During lunch with the other first-years, Tsukishima traced mindless patterns into the freckles dotting Yamaguchi's arms, sending pleasant shivers up the olive haired boy's spine and leaving a warm feeling in his chest. Hinata and Kageyama didn't notice, too busy arguing about volleyball and trying to convince Kei and Tadashi to join their ungodly-houred pre-morning morning practices. Yachi, however, glanced curiously at the show of affection, looking back and forth between the blonde and Yamaguchi before shaking her head and reminding Hinata that not everyone could, or even wanted to, play volleyball at 4 am. Before he knew it, lunch was over, and they ambled back to class.

Afternoon classes seemed to take ages, and, for the first time, Tadashi found himself wishing for class to hurry up so he could practice already. When classes finally, finally, ended, Tsukishima was, as usual, approached by the pretty girl of the week. This particular one was persistent, she had been confessing to Kei every day for what seemed like weeks. Obviously annoyed, he didn't even try to avoid her and just cut her off before she could even speak. 

“No, for the last time, I’m not interested in dating you, take your confessions somewhere else and stop wasting my time.”

Yamaguchi had to suppress a quiet snicker as Kei shot the girl down, honestly, how many times would it take before she gave up? He felt a little sorry that she had to be so brutally turned away, but only a little. That was, after all, his man she was trying to date. Plus, her confessions always made them late for practice or lunch, and it was seriously getting annoying. Tadashi did, however, finally burst into muffled giggles as the girl stormed off in a huff, muttering about “boys not appreciating real beauty". She hadn't even noticed that the two had been holding hands throughout her confession. 

The two employed the same touchy-feely tactic during after school practice as they had during morning practice. Aside from that though, things went on as usual: Tanaka took his shirt off too many times, Hinata and Kageyama fought over something stupid, Noya tried to get Kinoshita and Narita to backflip in sync with him with Suga egging them on, to the result of a bloody nose and a very concerned Asahi and Yachi. The standard club chaos, really. Yamaguchi got some more good serves in, and Tsukishima finally managed to consistently touch the duo's freak quick, much to the delight of the seniors and the absolute dismay of Hinata and Kageyama. As it was, no one seemed to notice Tsukishima's overly tactile nature. Even Suga and Yachi, who seemed a bit suspicious after morning practice, seemed to have written off the touchiness. A shame, really, Akiteru had bet that Suga would be the first to figure it out.

After a quick stop at Coach Ukai’s store, someone, finally someone, kicked up a fuss about the couple’s new clinginess. "Hey!! How come Stingyshima holds Yamaguchi's hand? You're usually all like Beh! You don't even shake my hand after practice matches! What gives?” Hinata's indignant shriek caused the rest of the team to look over at the pair, to whom Hinata was accusingly pointing.

“Boke, Hinata! Of course he didn't shake your hand, who would want to say that they were on the same level as such a shitty receiver?” And, just like that, Kageyama and Hinata were bickering again, Tsukishima and Tadashi now erased from their volleyball filled minds. The other troublemakers of the team were a little harder to shake.

Tanaka and Nishinoya, of course, jumped on the opportunity to heckle Tsukishima. “Hey, yeah! Yamaguchi always gets special treatment, why can't you be that nice to your senpais huh bastard?” Of course, leave it to Tanaka to turn this into a lecture about respecting seniors. 

“It's because they've been bros for forever isn't it? Admit it Saltyshima! Yamaguchi is your bestest friend! You have a favourite! Saltyshima, more like Softyshima hah!” Noya egged sing-songingly, extending the vowels for extra annoyingness.

Tsukishima simply scoffed and walked in the direction of home, Yamaguchi in tow. Once they were out of earshot and eyesight of the rest of the team, Tadashi burst into a cackling fit, and Tsukishima started snickering. 

“I cah-can't believe they think hand holding is a symbol of best friend status ohmygod!” Yamaguchi could barely wheeze out the words between his gasps for air.

“I told you didn't I? Oblivious idiots. Best friends, my ass,” Tsukishima chuckled at Yamaguchi's amusement. “We're clearly just bros,” he stated, mocking Noya’s assessment of their relationship.

“Did you just friendzone me? Me, your boyfriend?” Yamaguchi was still trying to catch his breath as he spat out the sentence with mock astonishment.

“I don't know what you mean. You're like... my closest guy friend.”

“Oh my God! Stop! You're giving me flashbacks to my pining days!”

“Hah, shut up, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsukki!”

And thus ended the first day of the experiment, it left a few suspicious at the most, but the correct connections were not made. Tadashi and Kei would have to kick it up a notch it seems. Onto day 2.


	3. Sweater

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am honestly shocked you guys seem to be liking this so much. Thank you so much to those who have commented, I love seeing what you think of my work! This chapter was super fun to write so I hope you enjoy reading it!

Tuesday was decidedly a bust, hell, if anything, it seemed to have dissipated any suspicions their teammates may have had. To be honest, Tadashi was a little disappointed; he was sure that Sugawara-san and Kiyoko-san would figure it out on the first day. Maybe he had given them more credit than they deserved, Tsukishima sure seemed to think so. It didn't matter anymore, because Tadashi was sure that someone would catch onto their plan today.

The weather was really working in their favour for this second step. The boys were lucky it was still chilly out in the mornings and evenings, as Tadashi wasn't really sure how they could've pulled this off otherwise. On their way to school, Tadashi had wrapped himself up in Kei's favourite hoodie, the lilac one with a little moon over the heart. The freckled boy liked this one the best too since it's incredibly soft and smells ever so faintly of the cologne Kei sometimes wears. The hoodie was also probably the one easiest recognized as Kei's since the team had seen him wearing it while not in school.

As expected, walking into the club room snuggled in Kei's hoodie and holding his hand caused a much larger commotion than simple hand-holding had. The second-years weren't paying much attention, but Daichi's eyebrows shot straight into his hairline while Asahi flat-out dropped his change of clothes in apparent shock. Suga simply stared at them as if they had just offered to buy him the spiciest tofu in the world.

"I didn't know you had that sweatshirt too, Yamaguchi! It looks a little big on you though," of course, Suga was the first to comment on it. Tadashi could just tell from his expression alone that Suga didn't for a second believe that the sweatshirt belonged to Yamaguchi.

Still, he played along with Suga's feigned innocence. "Oh! Haha, no, this is Tsukki's. I just stole it because I was cold," which altogether wasn't a lie, he was cold, and Tadashi did often steal Tsukki's clothes for just that reason. This time though, he had ulterior motives.

"Oh, wow, you let him do that, Tsukishima?" Suga pressed, clearly trying to weasel information out of the disinterested blonde.

"Yeah? He was cold," was all the response Tsukishima gave, monotone and dismissive, as usual. The conversation pretty well died out there, as Suga seemed to accept the answer, but he didn't seem to be very satisfied.

The pair kept up the increased contact during practice, and while the team continued to say nothing, Yamaguchi was sure he caught Yachi and Kiyoko whispering to each other more than usual. Good. The whole point of this was to have the team figure them out, after all. It seemed, though, that Suga was the only one to have truly caught on yet, now to see if he had the balls to ask the two directly. Suga didn't approach them after practice though, much to Tadashi's disappointment, instead opting to chatter with Asahi as they left for the first class of the day.

Unfortunately, Tadashi didn't get to wear Kei's hoodie during the school day, partially because it was against dress code, but mostly because while the mornings and nights were cold, the spring days stayed warm enough to not need layers. Even so, Tadashi found a few of his teammates shooting him odd glances when he and Kei passed them in the hallway. They weren't bad glances, per se, just curious, perhaps even a bit suspicious.

Things had calmed down quite a bit after class, though, and aside from Hinata taking another spike to the face, practice was fairly calm. Which is exactly why Tadashi should've expected to get ambushed by the third-years after changing; Suga was never this quiet unless he was plotting something. He had finished before Tsukki and was waiting outside the clubroom, happily snuggled into Kei's hoodie, when Suga grabbed him and pulled him behind the gym.

"Alright, what's the deal with Tsukishima?" Suga demanded rather than asked, hands on his hips, and a look upon his face that reminded Tadashi eerily of his own Mother.

"Wh-what Suga means, is, Tsukishima's been, well... uh... nicer? And we were just wondering if everything was, you know, okay... with him?" Asahi rushed out, clearly trying to soften the blow of Suga's blunt question.

Tadashi grinned, someone had finally asked. Although, he was rather surprised that Asahi was there too. Thinking back on it, though, it made sense for an anxious guy like Asahi to pick up on the subtle changes in how people acted around each other.

"Well, do you wanna know a secret?" Tadashi asked, chuckling lightly as both Suga and Asahi nodded fervently. "Tsukki and I have been together since the beginning of the year. We've just been waiting for everyone else to notice at this point." It felt good to say it out loud.

"Oh! Wow, that explains a lot, congratulations!" Asahi said good-naturedly, no longer nervous of offending or scaring Yamaguchi. Suga, however, was much less calm.

"YES! I knew it! Didn't I tell you I knew it, Asahi! Daichi didn't believe me, but you knew! Ha!" Suga cackled while doing a little dance. Asahi stared on in a combination of concern and bemusement. 

"Ah, Suga, calm down a little, someone might hear you, and we don't know how comfortable Yamaguchi is with us sharing this information." Asahi hurriedly said whilst shooting Yamaguchian apologetic glance.

"Don't worry about it Asahi-san, Tsukki and I want you guys to know, we were just seeing how far we could push it before people figured out. Now that you guys know, I guess we should tell the rest of the team." Tadashi was a tad disappointed that his and Kei's game had ended so early, but it would be nice having everyone know about them.

"Wait, no, keep pushing the PDA limits! I want to know how long it takes everyone else to see it too. I told Daichi that you two must've been together, but he didn't believe me! I can't wait to see the look on his face when he figures it out for himself and sees that I'm right!" Suga exclaimed conspiratorially, he sure seemed bent on watching chaos unfurl.

Asahi just shrugged, "I mean, if you guys want to keep doing what you were doing, I'll keep quiet."

Tadashi stayed quiet for a couple minutes, contemplating the offer. It was fun seeing how much it would take for his dumber teammates to connect the dots. "Yeah, don't tell anyone yet. I want to see how long it takes everyone to work it out." He finally agreed; there was no point in shutting down his and Kei's game, two people hardly constituted the whole team, after all.

When Yamaguchi got back to the clubroom, Tsukishima was waiting for him with both their bags in hand.

"Conspiring with the third-years are we?" He snarked. His words, however, were laced with curiosity and concern, 'What did they want, did they do anything I need to get involved in?' they asked.

Falling in step with his boyfriend, Tadashi just giggled, "Suga and Asahi have us figured out. Suga thinks we keep it under wraps until more of the team catches on. I'm pretty sure he just wants some chaos, but I agreed because I think it'll be fun."

Tsukisima snorted and squeezed Yamaguchi's hand clasped in the hoodie pocket, "Yeah, sure, I like watching the rest of idiots try to think."

Tadashi smiled up at his boyfriend and snuggled closer to him as they walked home.

"Mmh, it is pretty cold out though, I think I might have to steal some of your scarves too," Tadashi grinned cheekily, it was no secret to Kei that his boyfriend loved taking his clothes.

"Don't you have warm clothes of your own?" Kei murmured, no real malice to his words.

"Well, yours are just warmer, plus you have the nicest scarves, come on Tsukki!"

"Alright, fine, no need to beg. So, for tomorrow's plan..."

The boys continued conversing on their way home, gentle smiles upon their faces and hands intertwined. Day two was over, and while it left a few teammates in on their game, the vast majority were still oblivious. That's fine though, tomorrow's plan was sure to cause a fuss with the dumber crowd.


	4. Sweets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like this chapter, it was really fun to write, albeit a little gross lol. To those of you who have been commenting, thank you so much, your feedback keeps me motivated. Also, I know I haven't responded, it's not because I don't care, its because I literally have no idea what to say.

After much discussion, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi agreed to not set Thursday's plan into motion until afternoon practice, but that didn't mean they would abandon their old tricks. Tsukishima was still far more tactile with Yamaguchi than usual, and Tadashi had come into practice donning not only Kei's hoodie but also his scarf. Overall, though, they would need to wait till after school was over to add in their new element.

Judging by the continued lack of reaction from the rest of the team, Asahi and Suga had made good on their word and kept quiet. Not that Tadashi didn't think that Asahi could keep a secret, if you could even call it that, it was more that he didn't think Suga could contain his excitement for very long. For Suga's sake, Tadashi hoped the rest of the team would catch on quick.

Yachi was definitely getting suspicious though, that was for sure. It wasn't too obvious at first, but as practice went on, Yamaguchi started to notice that whenever he and Tsukishima were together, Yachi was close by, looking at them with a focus usually reserved for the nights the first-years spend studying together for tests. She seemed to be writing things down in her little notebook, which, when brought up to Kei, made him laugh. Leave it to Yachi to take notes on whether or not her teammates were dating.

Tadashi couldn't help but wonder what she had written down, even though they had been running this test for just a few days, the freckled boy could tell that Tsukishima was relaxing around the others. He treated them no differently, of course, but now the affectionate smiles and a softer tone of voice that Kei usually reserved for Tadashi when they were alone were making appearances during the school day.

The notion of coming out seemed to give Tsukishima the confidence to be more affectionate in general to Yamaguchi. Or so it seemed to him because, in class, Tadashi started finding Kei staring at him with an expression that could only be described as lovestruck. Tadashi would look up from taking notes to see his boyfriend watching him with a gentle smile and warm eyes. The caring gaze never failed to make Tadashi blush, even as he felt his chest would burst with affection or the blonde.

They held hands over the table just like they had the two previous days, but unlike the previous days, Yachi did not look at the intertwined hands for long before her eyes shot up in shock and revelation. Brown eyes met each other, and Tadashi smiled, she had figured it out, he was sure of it. It was only a matter of time before she would approach them and ask. She didn't seem to get a chance to before the school day ended, though. 

It was times like this that Tadashi was extra grateful for his upperclassmen. While he and Kei had a plan, neither really had any idea how to execute it. Their scheme needed sweets, which was fine, the boys could've paid for them themselves, but bringing them to practice was another thing. Toting about loads of candies wasn't something Tsukishima and Yamaguchi did very often, or ever.

It was lucky, then, that Asahi's parents ran a small local candy store. He had bought in newly flavored candies before to test on the team, so it wasn't completely out of the park for Asahi to bring in some old stock of lollipops and hard candies. Thankfully, Asahi had agreed easily enough, and when practice was over, he called everyone over to get some candies, claiming that they were excess stock that his parents couldn't sell.

Everyone, of course, decided to sit on the concrete outside of the gym and chat while eating their snacks. Yamaguchi absent-mindedly sucked on his lolly and listened to the rather intense debate about Charlie's inheritance of the chocolate factory, courtesy of Noya, and Ennoshita, surprisingly. Tadashi didn't really know how they had gotten onto the topic of Willy Wonka and whether or not Charlie would actually be a successful chocolatier but, he figured now was as good a time as any for him and Kei to pull their stunt.

So, he looked up at his boyfriend from where he was snuggled into his side and gave a short nod. Tsukishima nodded in turn, and the plan was set into motion. Wordlessly, the two exchanged their half-eaten lollipops, switching them out and carrying on like it was nothing, which, to them, it was. Tadashi and Tsukishima shared food all the time, although almost exclusively in private. Since they started dating, they had become even less shy about sharing snacks. It didn't matter to them if the other had just had it in their mouth, they had spent enough time with their tongues down each other's throats to make spit seem insignificant.

No one noticed the first time, too wrapped up in the great Willy Wonka debate to notice, but the second time they swapped candies, all conversation halted.

"Did you just... switch lollipops?" Ennoshita asked in horror, clearly disgusted by the concept of eating something that had someone else's spit on it.

"Uh, yeah? Why, what's the big deal?" Tsukishima responded, almost challenging Ennoshita to question them.

"Why?? Dude, that's nasty! It's been in someone else's mouth!" Tanaka shouted in shock.

Tsukishima just shrugged and turned to Yamaguchi, "I liked the other one better, switch with me again." Yamaguchi was sure that Kei didn't actually like the other flavour better, since the bespectacled boy currently had a strawberry candy, but antagonizing the team was kind of fun, so he complied, taking the lollipop out of his mouth, and handed it to Kei while popping the sticky pink sweet given to him into his mouth.

Of course, all hell broke loose. Tanaka and Noya faked gagging, Asahi looked almost affronted, Suga shrieked in mirthful glee, Yachi stared on in shock, and Daichi watched his team unravel with utter disappointment. It was Hinata's loud cry of 'indirect kiss' that caused everyone to settle, though.

"Hey! Your right, Hinata! Awh man, poor Yamaguchi, having to share an indirect kiss with such a grump like Tsukishima!" Noya crowed in pity for Yamaguchi. The boy in question had to keep from spitting out the candy in laughter, oh if only Nishinoya knew what he did with Tsukishima behind closed doors.

"Eh, I don't really mind it. I mean, what else are we meant to do if one of us gets a flavour that the other likes more?" Yamaguchi knew this question would just fry Nishinoya's cognitive ability. Since the energetic Libero hadn't technically asked about the nature of his relationship with Kei, he wasn't going to comment on the indirect kiss part of the comment. That being said, it was incredibly amusing seeing Nishinoya sputter in a mix of confusion and rage as he tried to come up with what to do in Yamauchi's posited scenario.

Their little get-together wrapped up soon after that, Coach Ukai having come back just to yell at them to go home and get some sleep. As he and Kei packed up, though, Yamaguchi could see Yachi nervously shifting her weight and waiting for them. 

Tadashi nudged Kei gently, "She's going to ask us, I think she figured it out during lunch."

"Yeah, I saw that too. That's what, three now who know?" Kei whispered.

Yamaguchi nodded, and the two packed up quickly, as to not keep Yachi waiting. Much like one would with a scared deer, the boys kept still and let Yachi approach them. It was clear she was nervous, with how she was fidgeting and glancing around.

"So, um... I don't want to assume, but uhm, a-are you two, maybe um... dating? I-It just kinda seems like you might be a-and I'm sorry please forgive me!" she stuttered out, apologizing before being given an answer as she was oft to do.

Sparing Kei a quick glance, Tadashi decided to put Yachi out of her misery before she started crying. "Yes, actually, we are dating. We've been together since the beginning of the year!" he couldn't help but brag a little about how long they had been together, even if it was only a year.

"Oh! Congratulations, then! I, uh, does anyone else know? Should I not say anything?" Yachi seemed almost startled by her own correctness, and of course, immediately started worrying about what to do with her new information.

This time it was Tsukihima who spoke, not wanting to make Tadashi do all the talking. "Actually, we're running an experiment. We're trying to see how long it takes for everyone to figure it out, so if you could keep this under wraps for the time being, that would be great." and then, as an afterthought, "Suga and Asahi know already though."

"O-okay! Yes! I can do that! Um... congratulations, again! I'll see you guys tomorrow!" and with that, Yachi scurried off, not scared but determined.

Once again, walking home together, Yamaguchi turns to Kei, "I bet she tells Kiyoko. There's no way she could lie to her if asked a direct question."

"Yeah, probably, not that it matters that much, they'll keep quiet," Tsukishima responded before flipping up his headphones. Today had been a draining day for him, Yamaguchi could tell. It must've been dealing with the team for that extra time after practice. That was fine though, Tadashi knew what the plan for tomorrow was, and he was too excited thinking about it to be much of a conversationalist anyways. 

And so the day ended, with the two walking home in comfortable silence, readying themselves for the next day.


	5. Names

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is like 90% dialogue lol. I'm super glad you guys are enjoying this, I'm having a lot of fun writing it! Here's the awaited chapter 5!

In all honesty, Yamaguchi was a little nervous, which was silly, he knew, but the last time he called Kei, well, Kei, they were still in elementary school. Not that Kei had forbidden Tadashi from calling him by his first name, but the olive-haired boy always got too red and bashful to squeak out his boyfriend's first name. It was stupid, he knew, but Tsukishima was understanding and never held it against him. Some people just moved at their own pace. Still, though, they had a plan, and Tadashi was determined to stick with it. Maybe this would make him less embarrassed to call Tsukishima by his given name.

As they walked to practice, Tadashi stifled a yawn and pushed closer against Tsukki, the cold morning air causing him to practically lean on his boyfriend. Practice had started early today because coach Ukai had a last-minute announcement to make. It seemed, though, that Yamaguchi wasn't the only one suffering from the early morning, because as the two boys made their way to the clubroom, the entire team seemed groggier than usual. Even Hinata and Nishinoya, ever the energetic airheads, were comparatively quiet.

As they sat in the gym for coach Ukai and Takeda sensei's briefing Yamaguchi couldn't help but feel sleepy. It was just so cold out, and he had woken up so early, and Tsukishima was a living space-heater, so Tadashi wasn't entirely surprised when he started spacing out and leaning on Kei. Coach Ukai's voice faded into the background as Tadashi lazily toyed with Kei's hands, and it wasn't long before he was out cold, slumped on Tsukishima's shoulder.

When Tadashi woke up, it was to hushed giggles and snickers, a few camera snaps, and some quiet huffing from Tsukishima. His head was on something a good bit softer than the blonde's boy's shoulder, and someone was stroking his hair gently. It was nice, comfortable even, so much so that it took him a solid minute to realize that he was napping on Kei's lap, and not his bed at home.  
He shot up with a jolt to see a very red-faced Kei and the rest of the team with varying levels of amusement on their faces.

"Wow! You were totally out of it for like a whole half hour Yamaguchi-kun!" exclaimed Hinata at the sight of the freckled boy raising his head from the blonde's lap. Tadashi winced, Hinata really was too loud to be dealing with right after waking up.

"Ah! My bad, I guess I should've gone to bed earlier yesterday" Yamaguchi rubbed the back of his neck as he apologized to the team. None of them looked too bothered by it, and judging by the damp spot on Asahi's shoulder, Tadashi guessed he wasn't the only one to fall asleep.

"Next time, choose a better pillow, Tadashi. My arm is still asleep," Tsukishima griped with no real malice. 

Tadashi nearly shorted out at the sound of his given name coming out of his boyfriend's mouth and almost called him Tsukki again. But no, Yamaguchi could call him Kei now. So he did, "Haha, sorry, Kei!"   
It felt nice, to get to say Kei's given name so unabashedly. Their first use of given names seems to fly over everyone's heads. All but Kiyoko, who gave the two boys a knowing smile and a thumbs up. Yamaguchi gave her a small nod in return, to confirm the question hidden by her actions, and with that, practice began.

Perhaps it was the nap he took or the joy at calling his boyfriend by his first name, but Tadashi served exceptionally well. Tsukishima, more encouraging than usual, even gave him a couple "Nice serve, Tadashi"s. Really Yamaguchi couldn't ask for more from a morning practice. He still didn't know what Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei were going to announce, but Kei would tell him later, so all was good.  
As practice carried on, the team started to take notice of the pair's first name basis-ness. Asahi and Yachi each gave Tadashi and Kei encouraging thumbs up while Suga grinned at the two like a proud mother. What Tadashi didn't expect, though, was for Ennoshita to give the two an appraising, albeit mildly confused look, and then turn to practice receives. Ennoshita-san almost always confused Tadashi, his sleepy face making him hard to read. Maybe Ennoshita-san had caught onto them too. When he voiced this theory to Kei during a water break, he simply got a hum and a shrug. Kei couldn't read him either, then. Guess they'd have to play the waiting game. 

Practice ended without any confrontation from the guys, but Kiyoko approached them before they headed off to class.

"Congratulations, you two, Yachi told me about your plan, so I'll keep quiet," Kiyoko said, gentle and calm as ever.

Yachi poked her head out from where she was hiding behind Kiyoko and immediately started panicking. "Ah! I'm so sorry Tsukishima-san, Yamaguchi-kun! It just slipped out, I promised I would keep my mouth shut. Oh, I'm such a bad friend-"

"It's fine. We expected that you would tell Kiyoko-san." Kei cut her rambling off with a reply as soft as he could muster for someone who wasn't Tadashi. Yachi startled and blushed, but nodded and gave the two a small smile before skittering off to class.

Kiyoko turned to head off too, "I look forward to seeing how your experiment pans out." She said with a small smile and then left. With a curt nod from Kei and one last excited wave from Tadashi, the two boys headed off to their own classes.

Kei didn't call him Tadashi in class, at least not in large groups, they were, after all, in high school, and high schoolers could be cruel, especially to Tadashi. They did, however, get time to try and clue in the freak duo while working on a paper in pre-calc. How the two dumbest team members even got into such a difficult math class was completely beyond Tadashi, but at least he would get to hear Kei say his name again.

"Ughhhh. I don't get this!" Hinata whined for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last five minutes.

"What is simple harmonica motion again?" Kageyama added as if asking another question would somehow fix Hinata's blight.

"Jesus, it's harmonic motion, not harmonica motion, you idiot. I can't deal with both of you morons at once. Tadashi, you explain these calculations to the king, and I'll try to beat some equations into shrimpy's head." Kei exasperatedly says to Tadashi. And then to the two idiots in question, "If you two don't at least figure out how these equations work, I'm going to personally invert your kneecaps and ensure you never step foot on a volleyball court again. Got it?"

"What? That's not fair! I bet you couldn't even-" Hinata griped, but at the sight of Kei's glare, he quieted down.

Tadashi had just finished explaining simple harmonic motion to Kageyama for the fifth time in a row when the setter got it into his head that it was a good time to strike up a conversation. Or maybe he was just stalling so he didn't have to do any more math.

"Didn't know the salt-stick let you call him by his first name now." It was odd for Kageyama to make small talk like this, but Tadashi needed a break from the math too, so he set his pencil down and decided to let it slide.

"Ah yeah, we're too close now for me to just call him Tsukki." Honestly, if Kageyama didn't get it after that remark, he never would.

"Ah. That makes sense then," he glanced a bit forlornly at Hinata, "I wonder if Hinata will ever let me call him Shouyou," Kageyama then blushed and returned to working on the calculus problem. As he had no idea how to respond, Tadashi went back to explaining the problem that they were working on, but most of his mind was stuck on figuring out how Kageyama could be so oblivious.

After a seemingly endless math class, the school day finally ended. Tadashi was absolutely drained from trying to explain math to Kageyama and was still reeling at how clueless the genius setter truly was. Tsukishima, however, looked more annoyed than Tadashi had seen him all week. His face had morphed from basic annoyance into a full-fledged frown, or as Tdashi liked to call it, ' Kei's grump face'. Trying to explain anything that wasn't volleyball to Hinata would do that, he guessed.

Luckily, blocking some of Hinata's spikes had brought Tadashi's boyfriend back in a good mood, good enough even to keep him calling Tadashi by his first name. Tadashi, in turn, made extra effort to say Kei's name as often as possible, in the hopes that it would help alleviate his boyfriend's sour mood. It seemed to work because between crushing Hinata and being called by his first name, Kei was back to throwing around taunting insults instead of actually hurtful ones.

Despite his enthusiastic near overuse of Kei's name, no one seemed to pay any attention to the implications. Tadashi had to admit it; he was a little disappointed in his team's lack of observational skills. Seriously, no one besides family got to call Kei by his given name. No one. Tadashi, for sure, thought the actions of the previous days would show the team that they were far more than just friends.  
Tadashi only realized after they had finished changing that Ennoshita and Kei had apparently wandered off somewhere. Ennoshita must've dragged Kei aside to ask about his relationship with Tadashi while he was still changing. Tadashi had to give it to him; no one else had even tried to talk to Kei about their relationship without him to serve as a buffer. He watched as Kei impassively talked with Ennosjita by the gym doors. Why that was the place everyone chose to discuss sensitive topics, Tadashi had no idea. He was sure Ennoshita had figured them out, though. With nothing else to do but wait, Tadashi plopped himself down on the steps and fiddled with a mindless phone game.

They came back not five minutes after the freckled boy had pulled out his phone, and Tsukihima, surprisingly, didn't look annoyed. It must have been because Ennoshita was one of the only people on the volleyball team that Tsukishima considered to be somewhat sane. That and Ennoshita probably hadn't beaten around the bush trying to coerce an answer out of the blonde. Either way, the future captain left the two first-years with a simple wave and a congratulations, no big fuss, and no blatant disbelief. In all honesty, Tadashi found Ennoshita's calm acceptance refreshing compared to Asahi and Yachi's anxiety and Suga's exuberance.

"Ennoshita apparently had us figured out yesterday, and was just making sure he was right. Or so he claims." Tsukishima stated. Clearly, he didn't believe that Ennoshita had known a whole day in advance, but then again, the blonde hardly ever trusted the word of his teammates.

"Are we still continuing the game?" Tadashi asked. He was curious, after all. Ennoshita seemed no-nonsense enough to tell them that they should just let everyone know.

"He'll tell Kinoshita and Narita, but that's it. Supposedly they had made assumptions too, but Ennoshita says he'll keep them quiet for as long as we want to carry this out."

"Hmm... I think we should keep pushing it a little more. I don't know if our resident dunce squad will ever get it without us telling them, but Daichi still isn't in on it yet so..."

A wicked grin split across Kei's face at the mention of their current captain still being in the dark. It wasn't often that Tsukishima deliberately singled out the captain for antagonizing, but something told Tadashi that Kei had come up with a plan specifically to unnerve Daichi. Kei leaned down and whispered his plan into Tadashi's ear. The olive-haired boy, in turn, turned a beet red and shot his boyfriend an incredulous look.

"Wh-what? Isn't that kind of much?" and then before Tsukishima could even answer, "No, wait... Let's do it,"

Tsukishima snorted, "It's gonna kill them all, it'll be great."

"Honestly? It just might." And with that, Tadashi grabbed his boyfriend's hand, and the two headed home.

Tomorrow would be something, that's for sure.


	6. Bruises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo, one more chapter to go! I think you guys are going to like this one. I tried to make it funny, but I guess it's up to you guys to decide if I succeeded. As always, happy reading!

Kei was a scheming bastard, and Tadashi couldn't decide between feeling angry, nervous, embarrassed, or happy because this stupid plan that he agreed to last night didn't seem so smart anymore but, by god, it would certainly let the team know something.

When Tadashi had agreed to Kei's plan the previous night, he thought that his boyfriend might carry it out with at least some modicum of subtlety, something just barely there but visible to cause some of the older teammates to do a double-take. But no, this had to be the one thing Kei went all out on, and instead of one small bruise by his collarbone like he expected, the two boys got carried away, and now Tadashi had to walk to school for Saturday afternoon practice with a scarf wrapped around his neck. It was cold out, but not cold enough to warrant a scarf at 2 pm.

The only thing keeping Tadashi from slapping that stupid smug grin off his boyfriend's face was the thought of the reaction the team would have when they saw him come into practice absolutely dotted with hickeys. The absolute chaos that would ensue as a result prevented Yamaguchi from being too mad at Kei for going overboard. Tadashi was still going to find a way to let Kuroo and Bokuto know, though, just because he knew the two captains would annoy the ever-loving hell out of Kei. The blond in question was, of course, trying and failing to suppress yet another bout of laughter as he looked at the peeved expression on Tadashi's face.

"What? It's not like you couldn't have left any on me," Kei countered. "Just imagine, though, the sheer panic and embarrassment on the captain's face. This has to push them all over the edge, no matter how stupid."

"I dunno Kei, I don't think Hinata and Kageyama have ever thought about anything but volleyball in their lives. How Hinata even figured out he was gay is beyond me. He and Kags seem way too single-minded to ever think about anything else." Tadashi mused. Really though, how did Hinata know he was gay? Yamaguchi was sure someone on the team must've sparked it because there was no way Hinat spent any free time thinking about things other than volleyball.

"Ugh, gross. I do not want to think about who on the team was that shrimp's sexual awakening, thank you very much, Tadashi." Kei sneered. Tadashi must've voiced his thoughts on Hinata out loud then. Oops.

The two walked on in silence after that. Tadashi, having forgotten his annoyance with his boyfriend, was almost buzzing with excitement. As much as he was not looking forward to the inevitable lecture from the third-years, the looks on everyone's faces was going to be priceless. He was almost tempted to unwind his scarf now and just waltz into the clubroom in all his hickeyed glory. Almost. As funny as it would be, there would be other sports teams that had Saturday practice, and they did not need to know about his personal life.

As the two meandered into the clubroom, Tadashi got a few odd looks at his scarf, but nothing would ever beat the dead shock silence as he unwound it and began changing into his jersey. The tension in the air was palpable, and no one dared break the silence as Tadashi and Kei casually changed. It was getting a bit uncomfortable, to be honest. And as the team continued to stare pointedly at his neck, Tadashi felt himself growing redder by the second, and with a quick glance to Kei, he could see that his boyfriend was getting pink too. Daichi finally cleared his throat to break the silence and was just about to say something when Tanaka cut him off.

"YEAH!!!! Little Yamaguchi's gettin some! WOOOOOO!" Now fully dressed, Tadashi sheepishly rubbed his neck at Tanaka's outburst, wincing a little as he accidentally pressed too hard on a particularly tender spot.

"Oh, yeah. I don't know, it's not that big of a-"

"NOT THAT BIG A DEAL? You have to tell us everything!" Nishinoya exclaimed, seemingly offended that Tadashi was about to call a makeout session a not big deal. "Who is she? Is she pretty? Who am I kidding? Of course, she's pretty. All girls are. How far did you get? You guys must've been pretty wild for you to be so bit up, huh? Who is she? How long have you been with her? You haven't been hiding some secret pretty-girl from us, have you?" With that Nishinoya started peering around, as if Tadashi had brought his non-existent girlfriend with him and hidden her in the clubroom.

"I... uh. You know... him. We've been together since the beginning of the year." Tadashi stumbled out, trying to make sense of the libero's rapid-fire questions. "I'm, um, not going to answer the rest of those. Sorry."

Thank goodness for Daichi, poor mildly scarred Daichi, who managed to usher out the rest of the team, save for Kei, Tadashi, and the other first-years. Taking a quick glance around the remaining teammates, they had reacted the exact way Tadashi had expected them to. Suga was giving that mischievous proud-mother smile, Asahi looked like he was going to pass out and die of embarrassment, Kiyoko (how did she even get in here?) was wearing a small amused smile, and Daichi looked equal parts disappointed and distressed. Kei, of course, wasn't even trying to hide that smug grin, that stupid, charming, smug smile of his.

Before Tadashi could say anything, though, Daichi cleared his throat again and began one of his famed dad speeches, "Now, uh... I don't mean to pry into your personal lives. That is, as long as you are not on school grounds, you are free to do as you please. But, just try not to let any couple's spats affect your playing as a team. And, uh, Tsukishima?"

"Yes, captain?" Kei replied, looking like the cat that ate the canary; that is to say, overly pleased with himself.

"Try and go a little easier on poor Yamaguchi, yeah? At least while we're still playing official matches anyway."

"Of course, I would never do anything to compromise the team." Kei, the ever smug bastard, said.

Suga, seemingly unable to contain himself any longer, promptly burst into the loudest fit of laughter Tadashi had ever heard from the silver-haired man. "Daichi, your face! Oh, God! I told you they were together. Who's reading too much into it now? You owe me lunch all next week!" Of course, Suga had made a bet with Daichi about their relationship, nevermind the fact that he probably already knew Kei and Tadashi were together when he cast his lot with the captain.

Daichi simply heaved a defeated sigh. The poor guy sounded so tired that it almost made Tadashi feel bad for him. Almost. "Well, a belated congratulations, I suppose. You two are fairly responsible, but just in case, don't do anything stupid, you're still young after all. Now off to practice!" Daichi finished with a clap of his hands and ushered them out to the gym.

Tadashi thought that the day would calm down after the rather mortifying ordeal that was the clubroom interrogations. Boy, oh boy, was he wrong. For one thing, Nisinoya and Tanaka would absolutely not let it go, which was expected of them, but despite the fact that they knew Tadashi had a boyfriend, something they were completely unfazed with, they failed to notice it was Kei. Honestly, they shot question after question at Kei and Tadashi, most of which could be answered with a simple yes or no, and they still hadn't caught on.

But that wasn't the worst part. No, the worst, most humiliating thing, was that in the slightly malicious joy at their plan, Kei and Tadashi had completely forgotten that the coaches existed.   
Coach Ukai saw them first. He was surprisingly calm about it too. The bleach-blonde simply raised an eyebrow, looked between the two boys, and nodded. That was fair, all things considered, Ukai was a chill coach. He mostly didn't care as long as the team was safe and healthy. Takeda though, Takeda damn near passed out. The poor man was chatting with Yachi when he spotted them, and his reaction made her look over too, causing Takeda, Yachi, and Tadashi to all turn bright red. Good lord, Tadashi was never going to be able to look his literature teacher in the eyes ever again, was he? Ukai proceeded to silently lose his mind at the teacher's reaction, and as he ushered the man to a seat and some water, Tadashi was dead positive the rowdy coach sent a wink and thumbs up their way.  
With the colorful reactions from the team and coaches aside, practice carried on as usual. Tadashi finally found out what yesterday's announcement was; apparently, they had a practice match with Aoba Johsai tomorrow. He really hoped that the hickeys would be faded by then.

Despite their numerous questions, Tanaka and Nishinoya still hadn't figured out that Kei and Tadashi were together. The freckled boy honestly didn't know if there was much more he and Kei could do to make their relationship more obvious. Kageyama and Hinata hadn't caught on either, but neither of them seemed to care beyond getting confirmation that Tadashi wasn't going to drop volleyball for his 'mystery' boyfriend.

The team had finally packed up, and Tadashi was honestly looking forward to going home and never hearing another sex joke from the second-years ever again. Seriously, it was embarrassing. The universe, or more aptly the coaches, had other plans, though, and Takeda made sure to pull Tadashi and Kei back. Just to chat. Excellent.

"So... I can't help but notice you two seem to be in a relationship," Takeda started, clearly a little uncomfortable, but still determined.

"Have been for a while, thanks for noticing," Kei snipped. The teasing from everyone, while not directed entirely at him, must've started grating on his nerves.

"Yes, congratulations! But I want to make sure you boys are being safe." Good lord, Takeda-Sensei was going to give them one of those talks. Please no. "And I want to remind you two that you're still young-" a rather pointed look at Tadashi's neck, "and that it is very important to communicate with each other." Takeda plowed on, despite Tadashi's silent pleas for death.

Takeda stopped to take a breath when Ukai, who had been trying and failing to contain his laughter, stopped him. "Alright, I think that's enough, teach. Look at 'em. Poor kids look damn near ready to melt into the ground." Tadashi shot the coach a grateful look at that, this was hell. Even Kei looked embarrassed. "Alright, you two, here's the long and short of it. Don't be stupid, talk out your problems, don't let yourself get distracted on the court. Now scram, you've got better things to do than being lectured by us two old farts."

Tadashi and Kei didn't have to be told twice, and they bolted out of there, even as they heard Takeda fussing to Ukai about whether or not they handled it properly. Tadashi was never, ever, going to be able to make eye contact with either of the two men again.

"I don't think there's much else we can do to help the rest of them figure it out," Tadashi said, breaking the mildly awkward silence of the trek back home.

"Yeah, they're genuinely never going to get it, so let's just tell them after tomorrow's practice match," Kei replied. "We'll at least get to lord their stupidity over them for a while,"

Tadashi giggled and sidled closer to Kei. As fun as their little game had been, it was time for it to come to an end.

Tomorrow, they would tell them.


	7. End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, this is the last chapter. Thanks so much for supporting me, I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you guys had just as much fun reading this mess!

Tadashi jogged up to his and Kei's meeting spot with a spring in his step, the notion of fully coming out to the team making him feel as if he was walking on clouds. Telling the team was almost a moot point by now since most everyone knew, but the four resident idiots were, somehow, still in the dark. Honestly, Tadashi was dying to see their reactions, and he could tell Kei was excited to be able to lord this over them for a while. But first, they had a practice match to win.

The bus ride over to Aoba Johsai's gym was rowdy and hectic, as usual, but thankfully short. This is where a bit of nervousness set in for Tadashi. Not about the match, Karasuno had already proven they could stand to the likes of their teal-clad rivals, but rather about what the other team would say. Kei and Tadashi were by no means planning to inform Aoba Johsai of their relationship, but both Oikawa and their second setter were scarily perceptive and known for heckling at that. Tadashi super did not need to be on the receiving end of Oikawa's mind games, thank you very much.

Regardless of pre-game jitters, Tadashi's practice serves all went over pretty well. He had only practiced more since they beat Shiratorwiza and had gained a little more confidence in his ability to get over the net and aim properly. Still, though, Tadashi knew he wouldn't be playing a whole lot, so he took his time on the sidelines to try and study Aoba Johsai's plays for when they went up against them again next year.

Try as he might, though, Tadashi just couldn't focus on the opposing team's weaknesses. Not when his boyfriend was out here looking as good as he did. He tried, he really did, but every time Tadashi's eyes strayed back to Kei. It wasn't long before he was thinking less about the game at hand, and instead about how well that intense stare suited Kei, and how his sport goggles mussed up the hair at the back of his head in a really cute way, and even just how nice Kei's biceps were. God, his arms. Okay, maybe Tadashi had been spending a bit more time than usual thinking about how attractive his boyfriend was, so sue him.

The sound of Hinata wailing over a missed spike snapped Tadashi out of stupor. They were playing a game. Right. What was the score? Oh, Karasuno's winning. Cool. Probably because the Aoba Johsai's third years weren't playing anymore, their season was over. Something Tadashi would have noticed much sooner if he hadn't been ogling Kei. Oops.

Although Karasuno was winning the match, it wasn't by a large margin. Even without the powerhouse seniors, Aoba Johsai was causing problems for Karasuno. Naturally, Tadashi got called in to widen their point gap. Stepping onto the court, he felt that now-familiar rush of panic at the thought of letting down the team. The ball not making it over the net replayed over and over in his head. Even after many service aces against other teams, Tadashi was more nervous against Aoba Johsai than any other team. They were the first people he failed against, after all. All of that fear drained with a gentle hand on his shoulder, it lingered for just a millisecond, but Tsukishima's comforting grip grounded him.

"Spear and shield, right 'Dashi?" Kei murmured with a smile.

"Yeah, spear and shield. But I'll get a service ace, so don't expect to play much beyond this," Tadashi sassed, the familiar banter serving to relax him more.

Breathe. Focus on where the ball needs to go. Wait for the whistle. Breathe. Toss the ball, make sure there's no spin, then run up and hit. Regardless of the fact that this was just a practice match, the successful service ace felt just as satisfying. Karasuno, of course, celebrated like Tadashi had just scored the winning point of a real match, which he hadn't. Kei wasn't as bombastic as the others in his joy at Tadshi's success, but he still gave the freckled boy an affectionate nudge and a smile.

His second jump floater, unfortunately, got picked up by Aoba Johsai''s libero, but the spike from the angry blond that followed was easily blocked by Karasuno's own resident blondie. Tadashi knew it was never just them, but it still felt kind of neat to have a play combo with his boyfriend.

The practice matches carried on for far longer than either team had originally planned, but Hinata's tireless energy and Karasuno's general success spurred everyone onwards to game after game. That, of course, meant that they all got back to their own gym much later than anyone was expecting. And they still had observations on their plays to go over too. Plus, Tadashi knew the resident idiots would make a massive fuss over his and Kei's relationship. It was going to be a long night.

After almost an hour of play analysis, the coaches and managers wrapped it up. Each of the four had already been notified of the announcement Tadashi and Kei wanted to make, mostly so Coach Ukai and Takeda were aware of the potential chaos that would follow. The coach in question gave a short nod to both Kei and Tadashi, signaling that it was their time to talk now.

Tadashi stood up, pulling Kei with him, and turned to address the chaos crew, who were all sitting in a clump together. "So. Have you guys figured out who I'm dating yet, or do I have to tell you?" Tadashi started. He really hoped, in order to spare them against Kei's inevitable razzing, that the fact that he was holding hands with the blonde would cue them in.

"No! We've been trying to get it all day! Why does it seem like everyone else knows who your secret boyfriend is except us?" Noya whined; he did not like being kept in the dark, apparently.

"Maybe it's because everyone else figured it out, morons," deadpanned Kei, his arm still wrapped around Tadashi's waist.

"Well, of course, you know, Stingyshima! You and Yamaguchi are like, the best of best friends!" Shouted Hinata. It took damn near all of Tadashi's self-control to not facepalm. How Hinata? How?

"Yeah! Hinata's right! You must've known for forever, right Tsukishima? There's no way little Yamaguchi wouldn't run his super-secret date by his closest friend! You've been keeping this secret from us too! And we've been such good senpais to you two!" Tadashi could see Kei's face grow ever more twisted with disdain as Tanaka spoke. These four were never going to live this down, that was for sure.

"We haven't been hiding anything, you absolute dimwit. Use your eyes," Kei said, and then to Tadashi, "I'm going to kill them, I swear."

Kageyama, who had, up until now, been silently staring at where Kei had his hand on Tadashi's waist, finally looked up with the same expression he wore when he figured out how a teammate liked their tosses. "Oh. I get it now." Immediately, the other three crowded Kageyama, asking him what he understood, and if it would help them figure out who Tadashi was dating.

The rest of the team was watching the fiasco like it was a soap opera. Suga with openly gleeful mirth, Daichi with disappointed exasperation, Asahi and the second-years with bemusement, and the girls with silent fascination.

Kageyama, after his realization, had fallen silent and was now staring blankly at his hands. Kei, fully and completely fed up with the team's stupidity, buried his face in the crook of his freckled boyfriend's neck, "Dear God, just tell them Tadashi. I can't take this idiocracy any longer."

"Haha, OK, Kei. Hey..." Tanka, Nishinoya, and Hinata were still pestering Kageyama, and thus, ignoring Tadashi. "HEY!" That got their attention; Tadashi rarely yelled. "My boyfriend is Kei. Honestly, I can't believe you guys didn't catch on sooner. It's not like we've been hiding it."

"What do you mean? When was it ever obvious that you two were dating?" Shouted Tanaka in equal parts frustration and confusion.

"I mean, Tsukki has always been pretty affectionate with me? Like, way more than with you guys." As to prove his point, Tadashi snuggled closer into Kei's side and gestured to the hand on his hip. Kei, in turn, vaguely tilted his head to point out the hickies he had left on Tadashi's neck.

"Oh! OH! Hold on. You mean to tell me that mean old Saltyshima has been the one defiling our sweet kouhai?" Nishinoya blurted in horror.

"Ok, we're leaving now Tadashi," said Kei as he started tugging his boyfriend out of the gym.

"Wha- ha. Defiling? We- we haven't... uh..." Tadashi stuttered. He knew that the hickeys were a bad idea. Damn you, Kei.

"Yup, definitely leaving. Let's go, Tadashi," Kei asserted, tugging on his boyfriend's arm a little harder.

"Hey, no! you can't run away from this! Your responsible and totally experienced senpais need to keep you safe!" Tanaka shouted at the pair as they were halfway through the door. Daichi and Asahi were the only things preventing the rambunxious second-years from chasing down the couple and giving them a very ill-informed talk. Through giggles, Suga mouthed at them to go. And flee they did.

"OK. That went about as well as I expected," laughed Tadashi, once he had gotten over his embarrassment.

"I hate them all. We're never telling them anything ever again," insisted Kei.

"Pft, no you don't. They're our friends, and they're good friends at that,"

"Good friends don't inherently make for smart friends, Tadashi,"

"Sure, but you admit that they are our friends, though,"

"Ugh"

"I'm glad we told them. It was kinda fun to watch them work it out,"

"Yeah yeah, I guess I'm glad we told them too,"

"It's nice that we have such a great team, even if you won't admit that they're your friends too,"

"Shut up, Tadashi"

"Sorry Kei!"


End file.
